Screwdriver



"UNITED STATES PATE or-frlcsi- HENRY noon, or rninannnrnm, PENNSYLVANIA.

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To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY Hoon, a citi zen of the United States, residin at Philadelphia, in the county of Phila elphia State of Pennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in Screwdrivers,

of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in screw drivers, and has for its object to provide a newimproved method of securing the handle upon the tool shank which latter passes entirely. through the handle, thereby making a more rigid tool as well as preventing said handle from becoming loose on the tool shank;

A further object of the invention is to provide means for fastening a wooden han- I dle on a metal tool wherein none of the attaching means pass through the wooden han dle and wherein a considerable portion of the wooden handle at each end is inclosed by holding means which fasten the wooden handle in fixed relation to the tool shank, but being removed therefrom even though said wooden handle should be split longitudinally from any cause whatsoever.

Anotherobject of the invention is to provide hard malleable ferrules so that the tool may be struck exceedingly hard blows without injury to the parts or without impairing the usefulness of the tool;

A further object of the invention is to provide a wooden handle with a projection at each end of irregular cross sections or of some cross sectional shape other than round, as for instance, an elliptical conical frustum which are housed in ferrules having chambers corresponding to the shape of the projections, so that when the parts are in position, the wooden handle will be held against rotation.

With these ends in view, this invention consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by.

ferrule.

' vided at each end with a considerable length, each "'eing ap' mxr s ecification of Letti'slatnt. at t J ly 6, 9 0 Application filed ui 27, ms. seiiai n $116,983. i 1

driver constructed in accordance with my improvements. v j fig. 2, i's a similar view at right angles thereto. g f j Fig. 3, is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, the tool blade and shank being left in elevation, U f

'Fig'. 4, is an'inner end view of the outer F 5,.is afsimilar view of the inner ferru e.'

F 6, is a side elevation of the handle \vhgch is preferably constructed of wood, an

Fig. 7, is an end view thereof.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, 2' represents a tool blade here shown as a screw driver provided with a shank 3" on which is mounted the handle 4 produe-ed from suitable material, but pref erably constructed of wood and whensaid handle is in position upon the tool shank, the latter passes entirely through the former as will, readily ascertained from Fig. 3.

The handle 4 may be of any desirable shape and in this particular case, itjis preferably elliptical in cross section and is prorojection of mately'one-siirth of the entire length of the handle. i

The inner endsfof these projections are smaller than the main body or central portion of the handle at the points where said projections meet the main body portion thereby forming at each end a shoulder 6 and the walls of said projections converge toward their outer ends while the Y are of irregular shape 1n cross section. n other words, the cross sectional shape of said proectlons is other than round, as for instance,

they may be elliptical, as here shown, so that said projections form elliptical conical frustums.

The handle 4 is provided with a central longitudinal bore 7 running the entire length thereof including the projections 5, so that when mounted upon the shank 3, the latter passes entirely therethrou'gh with the upper or outer end projecting beyond the handle, as plainly shown in Fig. 3.

On the shank 3 at each end of the handle is mounted a ferrule 8 and these ferrules are produced from some suitable hard malleable metal such as. steel or malleable iron," so that the tool may be struck with another. tool such as a hammer without injuring the same or without impairing the usefulness of the screw driver.

The exterior contour of these ferrules resemble or is the same as the exterior contour of the handle for instance where said handle is elliptical in cross section, the ferrules are also elliptical. Each of the ferrules is provided with a bore 9 which communicates with a gradually increasing elliptical chamber 10 corresponding to the contour of theprojeetions on the handle with which they register and inclose and because of the shapes of the projections and the chambers in the ferrules, said handle is prevented from rotating independently of the ferrule.

The inner ferrule is rigidly secured or fixed to the shank intermediate its ends by av rivet 11 or its equivalent which passes through said ferrule and shank beyond the chamber so that saidrivet does not contact or pass. through the handle. The up per ferrule is provided at its outer end at the end of the bore 9 with a countersink 12. and when said ferrule-is properly positioned uponthe projecting outer endof the shank, the said outer end is headed asat 13 thereby-securely fastening the said outer ferrule in place. lVhen the ferrules are placed upon the handle, the inner edges thereof engagethe shoulder 6 on the handle and properly position the ferrules relative to the handle.

As before stated, the handle 4: is in no way directly attached to the tool shank nor has it any fastening means of any character passing through the same, but be-. cause of the shapes of the projections 5 and the chamber 10 of the ferrules registering therewith and said ferrules being fixed to the shank, the handle will be rigidly'secured in place upon the shank, thus preventing said handle from being turned independentlyof the tool blade.

Byconstructing a tool in the manner above described, it is very unlikely that the handle will split, but if it should split, the parts cannot be displaced because of the ceedingly hard blows with another. .tool

such as a hammer, so that a workman may use the device for splitting pieces of. wood for making holes or for prying two objects apart which is often found necessary or convenient and although I am aware that ferrules have been used on tool handles before, yet these are generally made of light metalsuch as tin or thin brass which are not of sufficient strength to prevent the handle fromturning should the same become loose upon the tool shank nor stiff enough to prevent a piece of the handle from separating from the main part of the handle should the latter split, then again they'are not hard enough to prevent their destruction if hammered upon, but with the construction here illustrated and 'described, all these objections are entirely overcome.

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction as herein shown, as these may be varied within the limits of the appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new and patentable A tool comprising a handle elliptical in cross section, a projection at each end having the shape of an elliptical conical frustum, ferrules each having a bore and an elliptical chamber gradually increasing in size to correspond tothe shape of the projections, one of said ferrules being mounted on each end of the handle and inclosing the projections and a blade having a shank passing entirely through the handle and ferrules, said ferrules being fixed to'the shank for attaching the handle thereto. 1

y In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my signature. i

HENRY noon. 

